This is what the chief of police in Dallas had to say recently about the fact that the city he's supposed to keep safe has seen a 25 percent rise in rapes: watch yourselves, drunk girls.

Andrea Grimes of The Dallas Observer was liveblogging Dallas's public safety committee meeting yesterday. Here's her account of the meeting, in which a reporter asked Chief David Brown to put into context the staggering 25.3 percent rape increase, year to date:

Is it that victims are reporting rapes more frequently, or that more rapes are happening? The answer, unfortunately: More rapes, says Chief Brown, specifically date rapes...

"We're needing to create a message to the victims of this type of crime, related to, you know, someone you don't know that well, you having a little bit too much to drink," explains Chief Brown, suggesting women, "have your friends watch you" if you intend to drink in front of a man.

Or perhaps we're needing to "create a message" to rapists that they shouldn't be raping women, drunk or otherwise, on a "date" or elsewhere? Just one crazy idea.